Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is an English actor and voice actor. He is known for playing Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot, and criminal Michael Caffee in the Showtime series Brotherhood. In December 2016, he played the lead antagonist in the Netflix supernatural series The OA. He currently plays Captain Gabriel Lorca, the commanding officer of the USS Discovery in Star Trek: Discovery.
Jason Isaacs was born in Liverpool, England, to Jewish parents. His father was a jeweller.[6] Isaacs spent his earliest childhood years in an "insular" and "closely knit" Jewish community of Liverpudlians, of which his Eastern European great-grandparents were founder-members in the leafy Liverpool suburb, Childwall.[7] The third of four sons,[8] Isaacs attended a Jewish school, known then as King David High school and a cheder twice a week as a young adult.[9][10] Isaacs has stated that Judaism played a big role in his childhood, he went to the youth club in the local synagogue and studied Hebrew twice a week.[11] When Isaacs was 11, he moved with his family to Northwest London, attending The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, in Elstree, Hertsmere, in Hertfordshire, where he was in the same year as film reviewerMark Kermode.[9] He describes the bullying and intolerance he observed during his childhood as "preparation" for portraying the "unattractive", villainous characters whom he has most often played.[3][3][12]
As a teenager after having moved to London being Jewish, Isaacs suffered antisemitism by members and supporters of the far right extremist organisation National Front, during an interview he stated: "There were constantly people beating us up or smashing windows. If you were ever, say, on a Jewish holiday, identifiably Jewish, there was lots of violence around. But particularly when I was 16, in 1979, the National Front were really taking hold, there were leaflets at school, and Sieg Heiling and people goose-stepping down the road and coming after us".[13] Following his more traditionally inclined brothers, who became respectively a doctor, a lawyer and an accountant,[8] Isaacs studied law at Bristol University (1982–85), but he became more actively involved in the drama society, eventually performing in over 30 plays and performing each summer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, first with Bristol University and then, twice, with the National Student Theatre Company. After graduating from Bristol he went immediately to train at London's Central School of Speech and Drama (1985–88).[3][8][14]
Career
Isaacs at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California.
After completing his training as an actor, Isaacs almost immediately began appearing on the stage and on television; his film debut was in a minor role as a doctor in Mel Smith's The Tall Guy (1989).[14] He was initially known as a TV actor in the UK, with starring roles in the ITV drama Capital City (1989) and the BBC drama Civvies (1992) and guest roles in series such as Taggart, Inspector Morse, and Highlander: The Series (1993).[14] He also played Michael Ryan in ITV's adaptation of Martina Cole's novel Dangerous Lady, directed by Jack Woods and produced by Lavinia Warner in 1995.
On stage he portrayed the "emotionally waffling"[14] gay Jewish office temp Louis Ironson in Tony Kushner's Pulitzer-Prize-winning Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, at the Royal National Theatre, in its London première, performing the role in both parts, Part One: Millennium Approaches, in 1992, and Part Two: Perestroika, in 1993.[2] When auditioning for that role, he told the producers, "Look, I play all these tough guys and thugs and strong, complex characters. In real life, I am a cringing, neurotic Jewish mess. Can't I for once play that on stage?"[10]
His first Hollywood role was alongside Laurence Fishburne in the film Event Horizon in 1997. Subsequently, he appeared in the Bruce Willis blockbuster Armageddon (1998).[14] Initially called upon to take a fairly substantial role, Isaacs was eventually cast in a much smaller capacity as a planet-saving scientist so that he could accommodate his commitment to Divorcing Jack (1998), a comedy thriller he was making with David Thewlis.[8]
Isaacs has appeared in many other films, most notably as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series of films (2002–2011). Regarding the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, Isaacs has said: "I went off and read the books after the audition and I read the first four books in one sitting – you know – didn't wash, didn't eat, drove around with them on the steering wheel like a lunatic. I suddenly understood why my friends, who I'd thought were slightly backward, had been so addicted to these children's books. They're like crack."[citation needed] In "The Naked and the Dead", an article published in the San Francisco Chronicle, on 26 November 2006, Neva Chonin names the character Lucius Malfoy one of the 12 "Sexiest Men Who Were Never Alive" and Isaacs one of the 13 "Sexiest Men Who Are Real and Alive".[16]
Prior to the making of the film, when asked whether or not he would be in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Isaacs replied, "I hope so – you'll have to ask David (producer David Heyman). I can't bear the idea that somebody else would get to wear my Paris Hilton wig, but you never know."[17] Isaacs also talked to J.K. Rowling on the inclusion of Lucius Malfoy in the then unpublished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, so that he would have a part in the seventh and final film: "The character does not appear in the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; but ... [Isaacs joked], 'I fell to my knees and begged ... It didn't do any good. I'm sure she doesn't need plot ideas from me. But I made my point. We'll see. Like everybody else, I'm holding my breath to July to see what's in there. I just want to bust out of prison, that's all. I don't want to stay in Azkaban most of my life.' "[18] Ultimately Isaacs did reprise the role of Malfoy as a cameo appearance in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), where he is seen in a moving portrait. Afterwards, Isaacs reprised the role again in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) and Part 2 (2011).[19]
Between 2 February and 24 March 2007, Isaacs played Ben, opposite Lee Evans (Gus), in the critically acclaimed 50th-anniversary production of Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter, at Trafalgar Studios, in London, his first theatre performance since appearing in The Force of Change (2000).[3][4][5][24][25]
In 2007, he was cast in Jan de Bont's then-still-upcoming film Stopping Power, to play its star John Cusack's "nemesis",[28][29] but, on 31 August 2007, Variety reported that the film, also planned for release in 2009, had been cancelled after a financial backer pulled out.[30] Isaacs appeared in one episode of the TV show Entourage in the autumn of 2008 as Fredrick Line. In 2009, he was nominated at the British Academy Television Awards for Best Actor for his role as Harry H. Corbett in The Curse of Steptoe.[31]
On the evening of 2 May 2009, Isaacs performed the role of Ben again, opposite his Brotherhood co-star (and Tony Award winner) Brian F. O'Byrne (as Gus), in a "rehearsed reading" of The Dumb Waiter.[citation needed] Their reading capped off the Harold Pinter Memorial Celebration being curated by Harry Burton (who had directed him and Evans at Trafalgar Studios). This tribute to Harold Pinter co-sponsored by the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center (MESTC), of The Graduate Center of The City University of New York (CUNY), was part of the Fifth Annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature, held in New York City, from 27 April to 3 May 2009.[32][33]
In 2011 he starred as Jackson Brodie in a BBC adaptation of Kate Atkinson's Case Histories. For his portrayal of the detective Isaacs won a Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television.
Isaacs starred as Detective Michael Britten in the NBC series Awake, which premiered on 1 March 2012, and ended in May 2012. After Britten gets into a terrible car wreck with his family, his dreams begin to take on two alternate realities, one in which his wife died in the crash and one in which his son died. Says Isaacs about the ambitious premise: "There’s no question it's challenging. We’ve got a bunch of very experienced writers who have written things from HBO shows to The X-Files, to 24 and everything in between. And they are challenged. All of them have said that it's the hardest job that they've ever had. But sometimes that's a good thing. … If it comes easily, that they could write in their sleep, I personally wouldn't want to act – and I think the audience wouldn't want to watch."[34]
In 2015, Isaacs took the lead role in the USA Network action adventure drama series Dig. Isaacs plays an FBI agent stationed in Jerusalem who uncovers a 2,000-year-old conspiracy while investigating an archaeologist's murder. The ten-episode series premiered 5 March 2015. In February 2016, he starred in Medusa's Ankles, a film directed by Harry Potter co-star Bonnie Wright. In December 2016, he appeared in the Netflix series The OA as Dr. Hunter Aloysius "Hap" Percy.[35]
It was announced in March 2017 that Isaacs would play the role of Captain Gabriel Lorca in the new CBS All Access' series, Star Trek: Discovery.[36][37] The series premiered on September 24, 2017. Isaacs made his first appearance as Lorca on October 1, 2017 in the third episode, "Context Is for Kings".
Personal life
Isaacs at a Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament in 2005
Isaacs began living with his partner, BBC documentary filmmaker Emma Hewitt, in 1988,[38] and the couple have since married.[1] The couple began dating at the Central School and have two daughters.[38]
Despite Isaacs' screen celebrity as Lucius Malfoy, he describes himself as maintaining a "calm, sedate and suburban" life[38] and has spoken of travelling to film premières unrecognised on the London Underground, saying "They just think, who's that t*** in black tie? As soon as I get on the red carpet they start screaming and screaming."[3]
Isaacs has described himself a "Jewish man who does almost nothing Jewish in his life".[12] Isaacs' parents eventually emigrated to Israel.[9]
Aligned with the left in British politics, Isaacs spoke in 2009 of being a "huge" supporter of New Labour, praising the government's progress on education, health service and childcare, but criticising its "invasion of a country based on false pretexts".[39]
Isaacs was among the many celebrities that participated in the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament in 2005.[40]
Voice,[42] animated TV series (9 episodes) 2014 BTVA Award — Best Male Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Supporting Role - Action/Drama[43]
^ abSonia Friedman Productions (3 January 2007). "Dumb Waiter Limited Run". Sonia Friedman Productions (Press release). Retrieved 23 June 2008. Strictly limited run: Lee Evans and Jason Isaacs to star in major revival of Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter directed by Harry Burton ... To coincide with the play's 50th anniversary....
^ abCaroline Ansdell. "Review Round-up: Critics Find Waiter Not So Dumb".
^Naomi Pfefferman (14 July 2000). "Once a 'wimp,' Actor Thrives on Portraying Villains". Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 29 June 2008. ((cite news)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) Rpt. from Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, 14 July 2000.
^ abcdeRebecca Flint Marx. "Jason Isaacs: Biography". Moviefone. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 29 June 2008. Although he first became interested in acting in part because 'it was a great way to meet girls,' Isaacs soon found deeper meaning in the theatre (in one interview he was quoted as saying 'I could release myself into acting in a way that I was not released socially') and duly dropped out of Bristol to hone his skills at London's Central School of Speech and Drama.
^ abcPaul Lester (1 February 2008). "JC Interview: Jason Isaacs". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 4 February 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2008. Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School ... [produced] quite a vintage crop in [Isaacs'] time: fellow pupils included Sacha Baron Cohen, David Baddiel and Matt Lucas. 'I've seen Baddiel a few times,' Isaacs says, and he sees the others occasionally at awards ceremonies.... Not all the Habs stars of the time were Jewish, though, and Isaacs has a lot of time for another alumnus, the BBC's film critic, Mark Kermode: 'He is always incredibly lovely and says hello on his Radio 5 podcasts, which I've listened to in Auschwitz and many other strange places. He's said I was too cool (at school), but he was at the epicentre of the in-crowd.'
^ abcPaul Lester (1 February 2008). "JC Interview: Jason Isaacs". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 4 February 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008. Luckily, Isaacs gets to relax at home in North-West London with Emma Hewitt, his partner of 20 years (to whom he invariably refers as "my wife"), and his two young daughters, Lilly and Ruby.
^"Spark of Rebellion". Star Wars Rebels. 3 October 2014. Event occurs at 43:07. Disney Channel. ((cite episode)): Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
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